In this episode we discuss:

• How Francis manages to hike through snow without a warm jacket (or underwear)
• Practicing discomfort and gratitude
• The two traits Francis learned from spending five and a half years in Africa and traveling to all 54 African countries
• Falling in love and getting married in Africa
• The benefits of growing up with exposure to multiple cultures
• Collecting "cultural souvenirs" as we travel
• Why the idea of "cultural appropriation" makes no sense
• How the weather changes culture from Africa to Europe to SE Asia
• What Eastern Europeans Can Teach Us
• The role of history in American, European, and African cultures
• How the Moors shaped modern Spain
• Slowing down in Spain and reevaluating what's important in life
• Francis provocative writing style and why it's so hard to write a book about Africa
• Reverse culture shock on returning to America after a long time away
• The East Coast mentality and "default question"
• What the rest of the world thinks about Americans that we don't realize
• The three areas where America is hands down the greatest country in the world
• Where Francis plans to go next and making the most of life before we move on
• What it means to "Hike your own hike"

Links:

• Francis' Website (https://francistapon.com/)
• Francis' First Book Hike Your Own Hike: 7 Life Lessons from Backpacking Across America (https://francistapon.com/Books/Hike-Your-Own-Hike/)
• Francis' Second Book The Hidden Europe: What Eastern Europeans Can Teach Us (https://francistapon.com/Books/The-Hidden-Europe/)
• Francis' Patreon Account (https://www.patreon.com/ftapon) - Get access to "The Unseen Africa" book as Francis writes it 
• Francis' TEDx Talk "How and why travel transforms you" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2Bd8pNYH8A)
• Francis' TEDx Talk "Bring Out Your Inner Black Sheep" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVfADBIsgB8)
• Francis' TEDx Talk "7 surprising lessons from picking up 3,000 African Hitchhikers" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WxfRLByD60)
• The Jacks R Better sleeping bag that Francis uses and recommends:  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CfBrJX5zoU)
• Francis' gear list from hiking the Continental Divide Trail (https://francistapon.com/Travels/Continental-Divide-Trail/CDT-Gear-List)
• The Time Paradox book by Philip Zimbardo and John Boyd (https://www.amazon.com/Time-Paradox-Psychology-That-Change/dp/1416541993)